No matter if you ran, walked, finished or didn’t, everybody who participated should be extremely proud. Being out there, watching the runners and the people cheering them on, made me feel like an out-of-shape dork-meister. Back in the day, I actually used to be athletic (tennis and racquetball), and I remember the thrill I got from the anticipation of match day alone. And then, of course, the sense of accomplishment when it’s over and how good the physical pain feels. As a good friend of mine said, “I did 13.1. I don’t know if I could have done 13.2.”

Everybody knew there were going to be a boat load of people in the race, but I was surprised just how many spectators and well-wishers there were. It was kind of emotional to see strangers cheering on strangers.

There were a couple of funny moments. The race course and street closures created this void in the middle of downtown pretty much along Houston Street. There was hardily any traffic or people. Then I saw this one guy taking his Sunday morning jog. “Why now?,” I thought. There’s a big ole jog going on a couple of blocks down.

I was actually going to Bar America, but it was closed.

Then there was the course crossers, which I admit I was. The family wanted to meet for breakfast but couldn’t make it into downtown because of the course. So I had to find a soft spot in the race (at the corner of South St. Mary’s and South Alamo streets) to cross. I waited for a big gap and then crossed. Before I did this, I saw a family which decided to just go head first into the race where there was no gap. Hello?! People!

Luckily, none of the runners fell down, but their momentum was definitely broken. Next year, don’t be a dumbass: If you’re going to cross, do it with an ample amount of space between runners. If there isn’t any, don’t cross.